NFL players suspended over bounty program eligible to play

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will review the suspensions of four players disciplined for involvement in the New Orleans Saints "bounty" program.

Story highlights

Vilma tweeted: "Victory is mine!!!! -stewie griffin."

They will be allowed to play while the reviews are under way

Players were offered a bounty to knock out quarterbacks, the league says

Vilma sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell

Four NFL players will be eligible to play this weekend despite having been suspended for their involvement in the New Orleans Saints' controversial "bounty" program, the league said Friday.

Their suspensions are to be reviewed by Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to the NFL. The move came shortly after a ruling by a three-member appeals panel.

"Consistent with the panel's decision, Commissioner Goodell will, as directed, make an expedited determination of the discipline imposed for violating the league's pay-for-performance/bounty rule," said league spokesman Greg Aiello.

"Until that determination is made, the four players are reinstated and eligible to play starting this weekend."

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"I can't wait to see Jonathan on the field," said Vilma's attorney, Peter Ginsberg. "He's fought long and hard for a measure of justice."

Vilma tweeted: "Victory is mine!!!! -stewie griffin." Stewie Griffin is the name of a child character in the animated TV show "Family Guy" for whom "victory is mine" is a catchphrase.

Smith also tweeted Friday, saying, "Thank you to everyone involved in the process of this solution. And everyone who supported us through this whole ordeal."

Fujita said he was "overwhelmed with all the support."

"Thank you so much everyone," he tweeted. "Can't tell you how much it means to me."

The league also suspended three coaches and the Saints' general manager this year. The panel's ruling does not affect them.

Vilma, a defensive captain, helped the team's defensive coordinator establish and fund the program, the league said in a news release.

"Multiple independent sources also confirmed that Vilma offered a specific bounty -- $10,000 in cash -- to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of the 2009 Divisional Playoff Game and later pledged the same amount to anyone who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game the following week," the league concluded after a months-long internal investigation.

The NFL said its investigation found that the Saints had an "active bounty program" during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. During this time, players were purportedly offered payments if they managed to hurt opposing players and knock them out of a game.

Vilma then sued the NFL and Goodell, saying his reputation and professional career were being "irreparably harmed."